


You Learn Something New Every Year

by meandering_bluebottle



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-02-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:06:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22676866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meandering_bluebottle/pseuds/meandering_bluebottle
Summary: When you are an 11 year old just starting your magical education at Hogwarts, there is a lot to learn. What lessons will Rose and Scorpius find out about magic, life and each other? Light and fluffy piece centred around interactions between Rose and Scorpius each year at Hogwarts...and potentially once more after.
Relationships: Scorpius Malfoy/Rose Weasley
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	1. First & Second Year

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Harry potter and all relevant media belong to JK Rowling. Very minor Cursed Child spoilers as I have used some direct dialogue from Cursed Child in this first chapter, purely because even though the storyline of that play needs work, I loved the portrayal of Scorpius!

**First year: Rose learns why Albus is in Slytherin.**

Rose and Albus ran quickly through the Hogwart's Express, trying to outrun Albus' older brother James and his chant of "You'll get IN to Slytherin!". This chant was neither clever nor witty but to be honest, either was James.

"Give it a bloody rest James!" Rose called back as they parted the sea of people around them in the corridor. Rose wasn't one to take James' cheek and had a very low tolerance for him at the best of times. Albus also had a very low tolerance for his brother but often took James' teasing to heart.

"Albus, wait up!' called Rose as she realised he had squeezed past a few more people and was further along the corridor than she had realised. As she caught up with him Rose grabbed him on the shoulder. As he turned to look at her, Rose noticed his eyes were downcast.

"Al, don't worry about what that dickhead said. He's just jealous that you got more attention on the platform than he did," Rose said, rolling her eyes. Albus gave her a small smile.

"Thanks, you're right, he is a dickhead,"

Rose gasped, "Albus Potter, did you just swear?" Albus broke into a real smile this time. "It appears so," he replied. Rose smiled back at him. Within their family, Rose was the one known for her ability to go from zero to irate in less than 0.5 of a second, which was often accompanied by less than ladylike language. When she wasn't mad, however, Rose was perfectly polite and pleasant to be around. Albus was a bit more sensitive. Always noticing when people were staring at him, the weight of the world on his shoulders as he was the closest in likeness to his famous father out of all his siblings. This meant that people always stared, always commented and always had high expectations of him. They always assumed he was perfectly thrilled to be his father's son but he often felt that it was quite the burden to bear and he did not feel he could live up to the standards others had set him, let alone live up to his first, middle and surname. Albus was the reflector while Rose was the activist. Their personalities complimented each other perfectly to create an easy friendship as well as a familial bond.

"Come on, let's go find a carriage, they're filling up fast."

They walked slower now that James had given up chase, but every carriage was full of students already excited to see each other. It was nearly at the back of the train that they finally saw a carriage with only one student sitting within. Albus reached up to the handle while looking at Rose, silently asked her confirmation. Rose gave a slight nod and shoulder shrug which indicated him to go ahead.

As Albus slid open the compartment door, the blonde boy who had been idly staring out of the window and surrounded by piles of sweets looked up.

"Hi, is this compartment-" Albus started but was abruptly cut off.

"It's free. It's just me." The boy said, standing up and showering the floor with the sweets he had dislodged. Albus, who was distracted by the sweets replied.

"Great. So we might just – come in – for a bit – if that's okay?"

"That's okay. Hi!"

"Albus, Al. I'm – my name is Albus." Albus stumbled for his words. He had almost said he was Albus Potter but didn't want his first interaction on the train to be marred by his famous last name. This did not deter their carriage companion.

"Hi Scorpius. I mean, I'm Scorpius, You're Albus. I'm Scorpius. And you must be?" Scorpius turned to Rose who had a bewildered smile forming on her mouth, trying to hold in the laughter she felt while watching the two boys awkwardly interact.

"Rose." She answered, noticing that Albus hadn't given his last name so she didn't want to rat him out by association.

"Hi Rose, would you like some of my Fizzing Wizzbees?" Scorpius asked, looking around for the aforementioned packet of sweets.

"I've just had breakfast, thanks" she replied with a chuckle. She found him very amusing. He didn't seem to have heard her and he continued.

"I've also go some Shock-o-choc, Pepper Imps and some Jelly Slugs. Mum's idea, she says 'sweets, they always help you make friends'," he paused after saying the last line in a singsong voice.

Rose could see him mentally kicking himself as he sat back down. "Sorry, stupid idea probably." He said quietly. While Rose didn't really feel like sweets at this early hour (her grandparents were dentists after all), she was about to change her mind after seeing Scorpius deflate so quickly, but Albus bet her to it.

"I'll have one, Mum doesn't let me have sweets. Which one would you start with?"

"Easy, I've always regarded the Pepper Imp as the king of the confectionery bag. They're peppermint sweets that make you smoke at the ears," Scorpius said excitedly and proffered the bag to Albus.

Rose sat herself beside Albus and watched as the boys shared the sweets and spoke in great detail about the different types. She laughed internally as Scorpius hadn't realised that Albus knew a lot about each of the sweets given he apparently wasn't allowed to eat them. That was because it was a lie, a little white lie that Albus had told Scorpius so he didn't feel put out that Rose hadn't accepted his offer. This was another reason why they worked so well as friends. Albus was able to put out the flames of Rose's small fires, however small and insignificant. The conversation finally turned away from sweets and they started to discuss Hogwarts.

"What house do you think you'll get into? Gryffindor would be an almost certain bet for the both of you I reckon, given who your parents are." Scorpius said, giving away that he knew exactly who they were without them offering their last names. He quickly looked away from them as he realised how he had slipped up. Rose entered into the conversation without hesitation.

"Maybe, I'm not too sure really. I think I would fit into any of the houses given the chance," she paused at the incredulous look on Albus' face, then continued. "Well, maybe not Hufflepuff." Albus laughed heartily at this. Scorpius looked confused.

"What's wrong with Hufflepuff?" he asked.

"Oh nothing, Rose just isn't the most, um, friendly of people sometimes." Albus replied between chuckles. Scorpius looked confused.

"But I think you're friendly. You came an sat with me when no one else would. I'm sure you know who I am. I mean, I knew who you both were right away." Scorpius said, looking directly at Rose. Rose smiled and rolled her eyes.

"I think what Al means is that I might have other stronger personality traits over friendliness. I just hope Al and I are in the same house." Rose replied.

"Well you're both sure to be in the same house. I'm almost positive to end up in Slytherin. It will be nice for you both to start the year with a friend in the same house." Scorpius said this cheerfully so Rose didn't notice the smile on his face was a bit forced. Rose couldn't see how this enthusiastic and overly friendly boy could ever be put into Slytherin, but she did know that he was a Malfoy so that was a big indicator that he would indeed be highly recommended for Slytherin. The conversation had lagged a little after this topic but true to form, Albus saved the say by starting a discussion about flying lessons. Rose couldn't imagine her time at Hogwarts with out Al.

* * *

The first years were all crowded together in the great hall with the eyes of all the older students on them. They waited in nervous anticipation for their turn to sit on that lonely little stool to be sorted by the Sorting Hat. As 'Weasley' was towards the end of the alphabet, she distracted herself while the sorting took place, knowing that her turn would be towards the very end of the ceremony. The first thing she noticed about the great hall was the sheer number of students, far more than she recalled from her parents' stories. She made a mental note to ask whether they just hadn't mentioned a lot of other students or whether the two wars had affected attendance during their time at school. The other thing she noticed, quite self consciously, was that she was the tallest of all the first years huddled together. She inherited her height from her father's side of the family, along with her vivid red hair. The bushiness of her hair was pure Granger though. Rose never quite knew nor cared about what to do with her hair so it normally started the day in a high bushy pony tale on top of her head that would slowly droop and be closer to the nape of her neck by the end of the day, allowing straggling fuzzy curls to break free all over her head which caused the habit of constantly palming the stray strands away from her head if they were in her line of sight.

They had reached 'L' in the line of succession to the stool, and she realised that Scorpius would soon be sorted. They must have looked a sight the three of them. Rose, the tall fuzzy red haired girl. Albus the short and unruly blacked haired boy that looked just like his father. Scorpius the average height but reed thin platinum blonde boy with a nervous energy about him. All of them were famous or infamous by proxy of their parents and all of them noticed the stares. Rose's mum knew that it must be hard for the kids and always told Rose that people will stare no matter what so when she wasn't feeling confident, just to act it. "Fake it until you make it" her mum had said. So with that she stood up straighter, took a big breath in and focused on her companions rather than the rest of the eyes in the hall that were on the three of them.

"Malfoy, Scorpius." Professor Taggart called out. Scorpius sighed as the room broke out into hushed murmers.

"See you guys. Thanks for, well, everything." Scorpius said with such sad finality and turned to commence the long walk to the stool. Before he left, Albus put his hand on the other boy's shoulder and squeezed slightly in support. Rose offered him a small smile of encouragement. Rose saw Scorpius take a calming breath as the hat was put over his head. There was a short pause until the hat called out 'SLYTHERIN!'.

The murmers got louder and one boy towards the back of the hall called out 'Oh, big surprise!'. Scorpius did not seem surprised by the decision, or for the comments that were coming his way and simply walked to the Slytherin table and sat down next to another first year student who had already been sorted. With the calling of the next student, the murmurs stopped and all eyes were on the next student to be sorted. 3 more students were called until "Potter, Albus" was called. Rose thought that Albus would be nervous and flattening out his hair with one of his hands which he tended to do when he was nervous, but she was surprised to see that he was ignoring the much louder chatter from the crowd as his name was called and strode towards with stool with conviction. The hat was placed upon his head and it was there for a while (32 seconds in fact, Rose had counted) and the hat finally called out "SLYTHERIN!". While Rose's heart dropped, Albus simply smiled and made his way over to the Slytherin table to sit right next to Scorpius who simply looked at him and blinked, not quite believing what he had heard.

Rose was in a bit of a fog so missed a large chunk of the sorting and someone had to nudge her when her name was called. She didn't remember the walk to the front of the hall, but definitely recalled the weight of the hat on her head and the deafening noise in her ear when it shouted 'GRYFFINDOR!'. Rose made her way to the Gryffindor table and sat with the other first years, glancing at the Slytherin table while absent mindedly introducing herself to others.

* * *

On the train ride home that year, Rose looked back on her first year at Hogwarts. While it didn't go as she expected, she had learned to thoroughly enjoy her classes and even made some new friends. She remained close to Albus and made sure to sit with him and Scorpius every Saturday for all meals, and in class whenever they shared the same subjects. She was sitting with her friend Marion, a fellow Gryffindor in their compartment when she heard her two Slytherin friends well before she saw them. The compartment door burst open, Albus and Scorpius stumbling in with handfuls of sweets from the trolley.

"Rosie! Look, we got goodies! I know you'll say you've already eaten lunch and don't need them but it's like an eight hour journey and you're bound to get hungry at some point. I got you pumpkin pasties and some chocolate frogs because I know you once said you preferred chocolate to sweets made of pure sugar. I think Al got you a drink," he turned to Albus, "did you get her a drink?"

"Yeah I remembered her drink, water and a hot tea. Drink the tea first or it'll go cold." He said to Rose while he handed the drinks over.

"I will, thanks Mum." Rose replied with a smirk, taking a sip of her tea. She held out her other hand to Scorpius who passed her the pasties and then the chocolate frogs. She gave a nod of thanks to Scorpius as she loaded the treats next to her.

"Oh, sorry – Marion right?" Scorpius asked, realising that Rose wasn't alone in the compartment. Marion gave a curt nod.

"Would you like something to eat, pumpkin pasty? Droobles gum? Pepper Imp? I'd offer you a chocolate frog but they're for Rose so you'll have to ask her if you want one." Scorpius rambled while holding out some of the sweets. Marion glanced at Rose, then back to Scorpius.

"Um, no thanks I'll pass." She turned back to Rose. "I might leave you to it, I think I'll go and find Andy and Talitha."

"Oh, okay. I might come and find you all later then," Rose replied, a bit disappointed her friend wasn't going to stay.

Marion stood up to exit the carriage but Scorpius got up a split second before she did so he could open the door for her to exit. Marion looked confused, suspicious and also a little amused by the action.

"Um, thank you?" she said to Scorpius.

"You're welcome," he replied, and waved as she exited. Rose and Albus shared an amused look as Scorpius closed the door and returned to his seat.

"If you keep doing things like that, no one will believe you're a Slytherin." Rose said matter of factly, taking another sip of her tea.

"Hufflepuffs aren't the only ones who can be chivalrous. Besides, it's just good manners." He replied.

"You don't open doors for me." Rose retorted lightheartedly.

"Firstly, you weren't the one getting up to leave and secondly, you wouldn't let me open a door for you even if I tried." He said popping a pepper imp into his mouth.

"Why, what did she do to you the first time you tried it?" Albus asked knowingly. It was at this moment that steam started coming out of Scorpius' ears, the after effects of the pepper imp.

"She used the tarantallegra jinx on me. Couldn't stop dancing for 5 minutes. Couldn't even reach the door to get myself through it." Scorpius said in a mock somber tone.

"Serves you right for assuming I was in need of help!" Rose explained.

"Didn't seem to mind when I brought you food even though you didn't ask for any. That's also just good manners." Scorpius retorted. Rose was a bit stumped. This was true.

"Well, I think its fair to assume that I would get hungry. There is absolutely no grounds to assume that I am too weak to open a door for myself."

"It's not about weakness, you're bigger than me I'm positive you'd be able to open any door by yourself. It's about being courteous, good manners and all that." He turned to Albus, "Have I not mentioned this to her already?"

Albus nodded, smiling. "Sure did, but arguing with Rose is a bit pointless mate. Don't know why you still bother."

Scorpius shrugged. "Because it's fun!"

Rose laughed and rolled her eyes at this. "It may be fun but only because I always win."

"Nah, you'll slip up one day." He said with a grin, then promptly jumped up and left the compartment.

"Wait, where are you going?" Albus called after him.

"I'll be back soon." Scorpius called back. Albus just shook his head. There was a comfortable silence for a minute until Rose spoke.

"He's getting more confident isn't he?" she stated.

"Mmm. Too confident sometimes. Doesn't know when to hold the intensity back."

"Ah, let him be. It's harmless." She paused, "Although I think Marion may not have appreciated the enthusiasm. How any of those arseholes can say he's Voldemort's son is completely beyond me."

"Yeah well, they say a lot of things." Albus replied darkly. Albus had copped a lot of flack for being in Slytherin with a lot of people speculating why the son of the Chosen One ended up in the notorious house. It didn't help that his best friend was the son of an ex (but reformed) death eater. Rose worked up the courage to say what was on her mind.

"Hey Al, you know I don't mind that you're in Slytherin right? I mean, it was a bit of a shock at first but I think, and don't take this the wrong way because I know a few people aren't very kind about the fact, but I think I'm glad you're in Slytherin now."

"How so?" Albus asked.

"I don't know, you just, don't take things to heart as much. You stand up for yourself more, especially with James and there's just a change. But a good change."

"Rose, when you spend as much time as I have with Scorpius and see how people treat him and what they say to him without it even ruffling his feathers, it tends to rub off after a while."

"Do you think he really isn't bothered by it?" Rose asked tentatively.

"Of course he is. He just knows how to make it look like it doesn't worry him."

Rose felt a little sad at this piece of information, but she supposed it was the same as the advice her mum had given her. Fake it till you make it. They hadn't said anything for a while but Albus suddenly broke the silence.

"Rose, can I tell you something?"

"Ah, sure?" Rose said, absently looking out the window.

"I chose to be in Slytherin." Rose quickly turned to look at him.

"What? Why? Why would you do that when-" Albus held up his hand to cut her off as he knew the beginnings of a Rose rant before it even begun.

"I know what you'll say, 'why did you choose to be there when it would have been easier to be in Gryffindor'. 'why would you choose to be a Slytherin when I could have been in the same house as me'. The hat was tossing up between Gryffindor and Slytherin and in the end I chose Slytherin. I figured Scorpius needed a friend more than you needed me."

Rose was shocked into silence. Not once had she thought that Albus had chosen this more difficult path for himself, let alone because he felt the need to help someone else out.

"Oh Al." Rose didn't quite know how to respond so she went with one of her default modes which was either get defensive or tackle the problem with humour.

"Well, how very kind and dare I say romantic of you." She said with a smirk. She had chosen humour.

"Shut up. You said you liked me as a Slytherin."

"True, but I didn't know you were a noble Slytherin. Scorpius really is setting an example isn't he?" Rose laughed. Albus chuckled along with her, knowing Rose well enough to read into the things she didn't say as well as the words she did.

**Second Year: Scorpius learns about Rose's secret talent.**

Scorpius really shouldn't read whilst walking. It was early on a Saturday morning and he had made himself get up early so he could walk in the school grounds to find one of the books that had fallen out of his bag after another student had so conveniently torn his bag with a spell as he was walking back from Herbology. Scorpius hadn't realised until he had reached the Slytherin common room later that evening and by that time it had gotten dark and it was dinner time. He had retrieved his book this morning which was almost frozen solid but a simple charm fixed that and he continued reading from where he had dog eared the page. That was until he became stuck in the trick step on one of the second floor staircases. He hadn't even realised what direction he was walking let alone have his wits about him to skip the step as he would usually do. As Scorpius was only in second year, no spell came to mind to be able to free himself. He would have to get out the old fashioned way, by sheer force. He tried desperately to free his leg on his own but he already knew he would need another person's help. He began to internally panic as he desperately did not want any of his tormentors to find him and take advantage of the situation. Before He could even problem solve or completely shut down in panic, he heard footsteps. It sounded as though the person was running down the steps at quite a pace, one foot on each step as they descended. Scorpius sighed, there would be no time to go into a meltdown so he just sucked in his breath and squared his shoulders and waited inevitably for the person to find him. He looked up and to his delight he saw a girl in ripped jeans, baggy t-shirt and a mop of red hair bouncing behind her as she hopped down each step. He had no idea why Rose was up so early but he was so glad it was her who would find him, or nearly run into him as it would turn out as she was to busy looking down, trying not to trip as she zoomed her way down the staircase.

"Woah woah woah!" Scorpius said in alarm, arms held up in case Rose ran into him during her descent. Rose had jumped at the warning and nearly tripped, but righted herself at the last moment.

"Bloody fudging hell, you almost gave me a heart attack! What are you doing?"

"Shopping for dress robes, obviously," Scorpius replied cheerfully.

"Oh yes, I can see that. Such a great selection." Rose replied, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yep, that's why I come here."

There was a pause. "You're stuck in the step aren't you?"

"Maybe."

Rose looked around and saw a book two stairs down from where Scorpius was stuck. She retrieved the book and eyed the title.

"Bathilda Bagshot's Autobiography? You were reading while walking again weren't you?"

"Maybe."

"I knew you loved her books and all things magical history but I'm beginning to think that you fancy her more than her content."

"Just because she wrote about history doesn't mean she isn't an important historical figure herself. Did you know that-"

Rose cut him off, "Scorp and Bathilda sitting in a tree-" she sang.

"Jokes on you, I'd love to sit in a tree with her. I could ask her a billion questions and she would have to answer because we were stuck in a tree."

"Now that's just weird."

"You started it. What are you doing up so early anyway. Don't you usually sleep until noon?" he asked, genuinely interested.

"Oh I was just heading down to the kitchens. Hayley was snoring so I couldn't get back to sleep. Food's as good as any excuse to get out of bed!"

"You know how to get into the kitchens? Hang on, no, scrap that. Second question. Why would you go to the kitchens? You sit with us on a Saturday. Are you not going to sit with us?" he asked in quick succession.

"To answer your questions; yes, because I am hungry, I will still sit with you and Al because this is more of a pre breakfast snack."

"Oh, good." He replied and then looked Rose up and down, "How can you eat so much? Most people who eat as much as you would be the size of a house. You just seem to keep-" he did a rising whistle, indicating how tall she was. It was only then he realised that he had said this out loud. He felt his cheeks warm slightly.

"Looks like I won't be seeing you at breakfast after all. Have fun dress robe shopping!" Rose said and began to walk away from him With her back turned Scorpius couldn't tell whether she was offended or just joking. He didn't want to take the risk.

"Rosie, wait. I'm still stuck. Sorry for the verbal diarrhoea. It's early and I haven't eaten and, well, you're just really tall!"

"Sweet Merlin Scor, you suck at apologies!"

"It wasn't so much an apology as a plea for help." He retorted and almost sighed in relief when she turned back and handed his book to him. Even on the step below him she was equal his height.

"Have you ever thought that maybe I'm not that tall, you're just that short?" she asked as she walked up a couple of stairs so she could position herself behind him and threaded her arms through his. Scorpius looked back at her.

"Nah Al's short, I'm normal."

"Scorpius Malfoy, normal? Don't think so. On the count of three. One. Two. THREE!" Rose said and she pulled him up as best she could while he lifted his leg with all his might.

There was a loud 'POP' and Scorpius' leg was freed. In the force of the leg freeing, they both fell backwards, Rose on her back while Scorpius rolled off to the side slightly and they slid down at least 3 steps before coming to a stop. Rose had let out a few choice expletives during the debacle. They lay sprawled out awkwardly next to each other for a few seconds before Scorpius spoke.

"Rosie, you okay? And thanks by the way."

Rose just lay there muttering and cursing, which as fairly usual for Rose so he knew she was okay. As he waited for her to finish her quiet tirade, he sat upright and picked up a piece of parchment that had settled itself above Rose's head. He picked it up.

"This yours?" He asked as he turned it over and saw a very detailed drawing of a venomous tentacula. Rose sat bolt upright and snatched the picture out of Scorpius' hands.

"It's for Herbology." She said curtly. While Rose had snatched the picture away, Scorpius could still picture it. The level of detail and shading made it look as though it was a photo. If the plant had been moving he would have though it was indeed a photo.

Rose's ears were turning a dark shade of red as she crumpled the picture in her right hand and aggressively held it to her side. Scorpius gasped.

"Don't do that, you'll wreck it!" he said, reaching for the parchment only to have Rose hold it away from him.

"Don't worry about it, it's just an assignment." She barked back and crumpled the paper even more as she leant on her hands to push herself up to stand. Before she was able to fully stand up, Scorpius had muttered 'accio parchment' and it whipped out of Rose's hand, ripping slightly in the middle where she was holding it the tightest, and into his own hands. Rose did not look happy.

"Scorpius you fucking give me that back!"

"No." he replied, gently unravelling the parchment which was now very crumpled and torn.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Give it back!" she shouted louder as he stared in awe at the picture.

"Did you draw this?" he asked in a small voice. The red from Rose's ears was now migrating to her face.

"So what if I did?" she said defensively, crossing her arms. Scorpius didn't respond for a while, simply staring at the picture. He looked up at Rose who was not making eye contact with him.

"I didn't know you drew."

"Well now you do. It's only for an assignment."

"Merlin if this is only for an assignment I'd love to see what you draw for fun." He said, bemused. He finally realised that Rose looked slightly mortified so he continued.

"Rosie, it's really good. Like, amazingly good." He looked down at the wrecked parchment. "Well, it doesn't look amazingly good any more unfortunately." At this comment, Rose quickly snatched the parchment off him and slumped down beside him on the step. She stared at the picture and Scorpius noticed her eyes starting to water.

"Hey, it's okay," he said, patting her on the back. "I think you're forgetting that we have magic on our side." He said and tapped his wand against the parchment while muttering a few choice spells. The rip fixed itself and the crumpled paper slowly ironed out so that it was now in pristine condition in Rose's hands.

"There, good as new. How did you even do that, it looks so realistic." He asked. Rose used the bottom of her t-shirt to wipe at her eyes.

"It's only a plant." She said wetly, giving her signature eye roll. She hadn't noticed that Scorpius' hand was still placed on her shoulder.

"Only a plant? Are you serious, you could get poisoned from that thing it looks so real! All you have to do to make it more real would be to. Hang on!" he said excitedly and tapped the parchment with his wand while saying an incantation. The plant started to move and writhe like a real venomous tentacular, and Rose's eyes lit up.

"How did you do that?" she asked, staring wide eyed at him.

"Nu-uh, first you tell me how you drew it in the first place."

"I don't know, I just draw what I see don't I?" she said defensively. "What spell did you use? Can you teach me?"

"Only if you show me more of your drawings."

"How about I tell you how to get into the kitchen instead?" she offered, knowing that the allure of constant supplies of sweet food would placate him. Scorpius stood up and then offered his hand to help her up. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow, ignoring the gesture and got to a standing position all by herself.

"I know you didn't need my help, I was just being-"

"Polite, I know. Come on, are you hungry or not?"

"Starving!" he said as he picked up his book and followed her down the steps. A thought occurred to him.

"Hey Rosie?"

"Yeah"

"Why did you have the picture with you if you were only going to the kitchen?"

* * *

Thanks for reading!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Please leave kudos or a comment if you enjoyed it, I would love to know what you think.


	2. Third Year

**Third Year: Rose learns that some boys are stupid.**

The library was crowded. It had been stormy all day and the rain had not let up. Any outdoor activities had been cancelled and despite the enormity of the castle, many students had opted to occupy the library instead of other haunts throughout the castle. While Rose and her friend Marion were indeed studying, many others were not. By the fourth time they were interrupted, Rose was seeing red.

"Who the fuck comes to the library to talk, honestly! I can't concentrate with everyone being this bloody noisy!"

"Shhhh!" Marion whispered urgently.

"Don't bloody 'shh' me! 'Shh' the noisy buggers in the next aisle!" Rose erupted while Marion was making harsh waving motions to her to shut up.

"Rose," Marion whispered, "It's a group of third year boys and I heard my name so yes, shh!".

Rose rolled her eyes. Marion was what Rose's grandma would call an 'exotic beauty'. Her father was English and her mother was Indian which gave her the most alluring combination of features. Rose was envious of her glossy straight hair which actually behaved itself. It was no surprise to Rose that a group of third year boys were talking about her friend. Marion was stunning, smart and easy to talk to. A triple threat.

Rose sighed at Marion's request but put her quill down anyway as she begrudgingly realised that she too was curious at what was being discussed on the other side of the bookshelf. They peeked through the gaps between the books to see who was there. They saw two Hufflepuff boys, Archer and Thomas along with a Ravenclaw named Gavin (Rose always wondered what kind of madness possessed his parents to name him that) and two very familiar faces in Scorpius and Albus. She blushed slightly, not really wanting to hear Albus and Scorpius's contribution to a conversation about girls.

"Of course she's hot but I'm just saying she's not as hot as Morgan French," Gavin said matter of factly.

"Yeah but the difference is that Marion is attainable, you know, age appropriate and all that." Thomas offered.

"My cousin Teddy's parents were like 13 years apart." Albus offered.

"Hang on, I thought he was Scor's cousin." Thomas stated.

"Technically yes but my dad is – never mind, that's not the point. Once we leave Hogwarts the age gap won't matter as much."

"But you can't deny that it would be weird to ask out a seventh year when we're only in third year." Thomas continued.

"Is that even legal? Scorpius, you'd know" Archer piped in. Rose snickered at this as to an unfamiliar person this comment may make it appear that Scorpius had experience in the dating world. Rose knew that he indeed had no experience at all. They must have been referring to his more bookish knowledge of the world.

"Technically yes if you were just dating but it may be illegal to do, um, you know, have sex and stuff." Scorpius replied. Rose couldn't see his face but assumed he was blushing slightly.

"What do you mean illegal?" Gavin asked.

"Illegal in that you can't have sex with someone under the age of 16. It's because there's an age of consent and you're considered cognitively developed enough at 16 to be able to make that decision for yourself." There was a pause as the group processed this.

"So I can't have sex with anyone until I'm 16 is what you're saying? That takes a bit of pressure off but what if I meet someone before then? Seems a shame to say no because there's a chance I could go to Azkaban for it!" Gavin exclaimed and seemed to pale at the thought of going to Azkaban before the age of 16.

"Sorry Gav, but it just means anyone over the age of 16 can't have sex with someone under the age of 16. If you're both underage but both want to you can." Scorpius explained, slightly exasperated.

"Oh, that's alright then."

"How did you end up in Ravenclaw?" Archer asked with a laugh as Gav punched him in the arm in response.

"I think you're forgetting the more pressing issue here." Scorpius said while the other's looked on in confusion. "Just because Marion's in our year doesn't mean she's more attainable. What if she doesn't want to go out with you?"

"I'm not saying I want to ask her out, I just think she's hot! Purely for observation purposes."

"It it's purely for observation then I should be able to add Morgan to the mix."

"We've gone over this Gav, they have to be attainable!" Thomas looked towards Scorpius and added, "hypothetically attainable that is."

"Fine! So third years only?" Gavin paused for a moment, thinking. "Okay yeah, it has to be Marion."

"Agreed." Thomas added.

"I don't know, I think that Ashley girl is pretty fit." Archer suggested. At this, Rose heard a scoff next to her. Marion mustn't have been too thrilled at the vote not being unanimous.

"She is very pretty," Albus agreed.

"That's two votes Marion, two votes Ashley. Scor, you're going to have to have an input here. You're the decider."

Scorpius didn't answer straight away. "Is there an option to add someone new to the mix?"

Rose noticed Albus raising an eyebrow in Scorpius' direction but he said nothing. Thomas cut in quickly with "Who else could there be? Nah, has to be out of Marion or Ashley."

"Oh, okay. Well they can be equal winners then." He said diplomatically.

"Well aren't you a wet blanket!" Gavin responded, rolling his eyes. "Fine, by the rule of Malfoy both Marion and Ashley are the hottest girls in our year level." He said with finality.

Marion looked towards Rose with a shy smile on her face. Rose nudged her lightly with her shoulder in mock celebration and smiled back at this very odd turn of events. They chuckled lightly to each other and Rose nodded her head towards the entrance to the library, indicating they should go. Marion nodded and they started packing their things away silently, still half listening to the conversation.

"Okay, so we now who's the hottest, how about the biggest dogs in third year?" Gavin offered.

"Jesus Christ Gav, you could have said the least attractive!" Archer shot back.

"Sorry, sorry, didn't think about how that would sound." He said defensively, then added "But seriously, who would it be?"

There was a long pause and Rose thought the boys were not going to continue the discussion, but someone eventually responded.

"Who's that girl in Slytherin? The one with the upturned nose and walks like she's in a marching band?" Thomas asked Albus and Scorpius.

"Oh that's Ainsley. She's um, well she can be a bit difficult." Albus offered.

"Difficult is right, don't know if it's her face, stomping walk or personality that parts a crowd whenever she's around." Said Thomas. The other boys had a bit of a chuckle at this.

"You can definitely notice her coming a mile off when she comes into the common room that's for sure," Albus added.

"Hey, you know who else you can see coming a mile off? That gigantic ginger chick in Gryffindor."

Rose stopped in her tracks. She was wracking her brain for anyone who might fit that description other than herself. Marion also stopped packing up and looked at Rose with concern. Marion made her way towards her but Rose put her hand up in a motion to 'shush' her in the same way Marion had done previously. Rose didn't even think that she wanted to hear what was going to be said next but some form of perverse curiosity came over her.

"Rosie?" a small voice said. It was Scorpius.

"Rosie? Is that her name? Merlin, she doesn't look like a delicate rose though does she?"

"Watch it Gavin, that's my cousin you're talking about!" Albus warned.

"What? Nah, it can't be!"

"Rose Weasley Gav, you know, both her parent's are Harry Potter's best friends, two thirds of the Golden Trio, helped defeat the dark lord? Not to mention you probably share a few classes together." Archer said, exasperated. Gavin must have looked confused as Archer then added "Christ you're thick, I'm muggle born and know who she is! Seriously, how did he end up in Ravenclaw?"

Rose got a little thrill hearing Archer insult Gavin. She was beginning to think he was an utter twat.

"Okay okay. Well, that's not the point is it? I'm talking about the criteria here."

"If you're going to continue this conversation, I'm gone!" Rose heard Albus say while she heard a shuffle as he grabbed his things and made his way to leave. Rose was hoping she would hear two sets of angry footsteps leave this conversation but she only heard the one set. That meant Scorpius was still there. The group must have felt a sense of security now that Albus had left so continued the discussion.

"What's wrong with Rosie?" Scorpius' quiet but now stern voice asked. Rose felt a sense of pride at this. Maybe he had stuck around to pull them into line. Unfortunately the replies came in quick succession and it was hard to tell who had contributed what information.

"Too tall for starters."

"Yeah! Who wants to go out with a chick who you have to ask to reach things off the top shelf for you!"

"Bit of a mouth on her too."

"Ginger. Need I say more?"

"Oh the hair! Why is it always so messy? And the clothes she wears outside classes!"

"Yes, she always looks – what's the word, upkept?"

"I think you mean 'unkempt'."

"Well yeah, unkept then. Like she makes no bloody effort at all."

With every comment Rose's heart sank. She had never put much importance on her looks because she favoured being comfortable. She had never before cared about whether other people found her attractive but when multiple opinions were expressed at once it was hard not to take things to heart. However what hurt the most was that Scorpius, someone she respected and considered to be her friend, had not uttered a single word of rebuttal. The boy who suffered from self imposed chivalry disorder had somehow forgotten how to be the gentleman he always strived to be. He had remained completely silent during this onslaught. Marion had reached Rose's side and gently squeezed her arm. With one look she was able to ask if Rose was okay and Rose's responding expression was one of being utterly not okay. Marion grabbed both hers and Rose's bags and whispered, "Come on, don't listen to these stupid boys," and guided them silently past the still talking boys and out of the library.

* * *

It took a week for Rose and Marion to concoct and execute their revenge plot. They had spent hours in the common room after they escaped the library. Marion had expected Rose to be angry, to swear and come up with a fantastic revenge plot involving entrapment and curses. The Rose that confided in her that day was completely different from the Rose she knew. She seemed defeated, sad and self conscious, a far cry from the usual passionate and boisterous personality of her friend. In the end it was Marion who came up with the plan.

Rose looked in the mirror and saw a very different person staring back at her usual. She was wearing Marion's clothes, magically altered as Rose was at least 6 inches taller than her friend. They were much more form fitting than she was used to wearing as the only remotely tight clothes Rose liked to wear was her favourite pair of skinny jeans. Her hair was down and sleek, her eyebrows shaped and eyelashes black instead of the usual blonde. A slight rosy tint kissed her lips and cheeks; Marion's idea of a subtle joke. She had tried putting heavier makeup on Rose but it was the one thing she didn't feel comfortable with, even just for the plan. Overall, Rose now looked very neat, stylish and put together – the very opposite of unkempt.

Rose summoned up the usual mantra that her mum had taught her - fake it til' you make it. She turned to Marion.

"Okay, let's do this." She said with confidence but not quite believing herself. She started making her way to the door of the their dormitory when Marion spoke.

"Rose?"

"Yeah?"

"I hope you are okay with this. I um, just want you to know that this was all just for the plan. I don't think you need to do all of this –" she gestured to Rose's new look "-to make yourself better."

Rose turned back and hugged her friend.

"Thank you." She replied. It was a bittersweet moment as Rose already knew Marion felt this way. Rose was just hoping that someone else would tell her the same thing.

* * *

Marion had entered the great hall 10 minutes before Rose arrived. This was on purpose as it was Marion's role to rally the boys together in one group so their plan had the largest impact. As Rose entered she stood to her full height, ignoring a sudden desire to make herself look as small as possible to hide away. She scanned the hall and found Marion doing an excellent job of holding the attention of the four boys at the Hufflepuff table. Rose ignored everyone else in the hall and set a beeline for the small group consisting of Marion, Gavin, Thomas, Archer and – she faltered ever so slightly – Scorpius. They had both agreed that Albus need not be a part of this plan.

As Rose approached, she saw nearly all of them do a double take. Well, all except for Scorpius who kept looking at her mildly slack jawed ever since he realised she was coming their way. She knew the plan was to ignore the boys completely until she was going to address them and call them on their behaviour but she couldn't help glancing at Scorpius briefly before turning to Marion. She heard him clear his throat slightly.

"Rosie!" he paused, "you look great!" he said. With the expression on his face, Rose knew that he meant it but for some reason it didn't make her feel any better. Instead of responding she committed to the plan and pointedly ignored him.

"Marion, there you are! David is looking for you, he wants you to meet him by the Quidditch pitch at 10!" she said with delight. David Yeo was very well acknowledged as one of the most attractive boys in the school. It was the perfect bait to humiliate the boys a little bit further.

Marion let out a squeal, "Oh I've been waiting for him to ask for so long! Boys, do you know David? Fourth year, amazing hair, Quidditch champion?" she asked. At least two of the boys looked slightly put out.

"Um yeah, think I've heard of him." Gavin mumbled, his masculinity taking a very slight dip. Marion ignored him. It was as if Marion now being unattainable had flipped a switch and the boy's attention finally settled on Rose.

"Sorry, how rude of me. Do you all know Rose?" Marion asked innocently while Rose just stood staring back at them nonchalantly.

"Weasley?" Archer exclaimed with a slightly shocked look on his face. "What did you – I mean, did you do something different?" he finished lamely.

"Oh you know, I just decided to change my look up a bit. I think I was starting to look, what's the word? Unkempt?" She stated while looking at Marion who provided her with mock agreement. Rose could see that the penny was dropping for Archer and Thomas, but Gavin continued to be oblivious to what the girls were implying.

"Well you should keep it up, this new look suits you," Gavin responded, clearly thinking he was being smooth. Rose had to fight back a chuckle as Thomas subtly tried to poke Gavin in the side.

"Why thank you. I think it helps improve my giant size, foul mouth and unattractive hair." She said with slightly more edge than before. It was as if Rose could see the penny drop and hit Gavin in the head with this last statement. Once she realised he completely understood, she stopped her charade and looked at them all stony faced. Well all of them bar Scorpius. She found she couldn't look at him in this moment.

"That's right, we heard you in the library last week. As flattering as you think you might have been to both Marion an I, I'm here to tell you that you're all a bunch of fucking chauvanistic pigs."

The boys were shocked into silence.

"Just so you know, if I hadn't heard your little conversation, maybe I would have said yes if any of you had the balls to ask me out. But now I wouldn't consider any of you if you were the last men on earth! Oh, and a little birdy might have also told Ashley about your conversation so good luck finding a girl you don't consider a 'dog'." Marion said with venom and started to walk away. As planned, Marion paused as she heard Rose address the stunned boys once more.

"Just so you know," she said with a very low tone, looking down on the group as if they were cockroaches under her shoe, "despite the fact that this new 'look' seems to please you all more than how I usually look, I want you to know that I dress however the fuck I like because I like to be comfortable. I do my hair however I like because I like to use my time to focus on other things like my family, friends and generally being a good person. And just because you're all tiny little men with tiny brains and likely even tinier penises doesn't mean you have to be intimidated by my height. Be real men and fucking look past the superficial." She said, staring them down one by one. Gavin looked absolutely terrified of her. Archer and Thomas looked rightfully ashamed. She didn't want to look at Scorpius but it would have ruined the effect if she didn't. He was very clearly shattered by her comments.

"Rosie-" he started, and Rose very much wanted to see what her friend was going to say but Marion cut her off.

"Come on Rose, don't waste your time with these losers."

And with that, the words died on Scorpius' lips and Rose was whisked away by Marion to the confused stares of any students who witnessed the event.

* * *

From that day forward, Rose returned to dressing and styling herself however she liked. Although she continued to shape her eyebrows and wear mascara when she felt like it, Rose refused to consider herself a sellout as it was all on her own terms and for her own benefit, not for anyone else's. She did however, still have a nagging voice in the back of her head that maybe she did this all for herself but at the same time wanted someone else to notice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and huge thank you to anyone who left kudos! Fourth year coming up soon!


	3. Fourth year

**Fourth year: Rose and Scorpius learn the truth about enchanted mistletoe.**

Scorpius was stuck on a staircase again. Only this time it was Boxing Day at the Burrow and Rose was also stuck right there with him.

Earlier that same day:

Boxing Day at the burrow was a hangover in every sense of the word. It was the hangover from copius amounts of alcohol consumed the previous day. A hangover of food, eating leftovers in creative ways such as a random turkey and vegetable sandwich or grabbing a fork and eating half the leftovers cold whilst hiding behind the fridge door. A hangover from all the wrapping paper still floating about and the presents which lay half forgotten after the initial excitement of unwrapping them. Rose absolutely loved Boxing Day. It was far more relaxed than Christmas day and everyone seemed to be in a wonderful state of calm and cheerfulness without the stress of the day before. This year it also meant that Scorpius Malfoy was visiting the Burrow as his own family's festivities did not appear to extend to Boxing Day. Scorpius was initially unsure about Albus inviting him to his grandparent's house, but eventually came around to the idea. After the great hall encounter last year, Rose and Scorpius' friendship had taken a slight dive. They had never talked about what happened all those months ago and they were still friends. They still ate together every Saturday morning, they still sat together on the train to and from Hogwarts and they still joked back and forth when the mood struck them. However, Scorpius had noticed that she was slightly more reserved, slightly more defensive and even more quick to prove she did not need his help if he ever offered it. She never had accepted his help in the past, preferring to prove she was an independent woman who don't need no man, but the manner in which she refused his help was different now – it had _tone._ "I don't need _your_ help!" she would say, emphasising the 'your' as though she would accept anyone else's help but his. Every time she did this Scorpius would internally flinch and have the sudden urge to want to explain himself, apologise for not outwardly sticking up for her and want to tell her how he really felt about the whole fiasco but he remained silent. He was not brave enough to stand up for her honour the last time and he was still not brave enough to apologise to her, let alone tell her what was really going on in his head. For now, he settled for being happy she was still his friend and he hoped that one day he was indeed brave enough to venture down that other path laden with feelings.

Scorpius stood inside the front door at the Burrow, patiently waiting for Mr. Weasley to fetch Albus and let him know that his friend had arrived. It was no surprise to Scorpius that he arrived to the sound of arguing. Not normal angry arguing, but the kind he realised that other families did out of entertainment and jest. It was Rose's voice he heard first.

"I don't see how you can still sell fucking love potions and enchanted mistletoe-"

"LANGUAGE!" a shrew female voice shouted.

"-and then also have the nerve to bring the bloody mistletoe to a family function. _Family_ Uncle George, as in we are all related!"

"Bloody hell, really?" George gasped in horror, then yelled towards the kitchen where his wife was serving up leftover Christmas pudding, "Angie! We need a divorce, Rose has just informed me we're related!"

"Huh, well that explains why the kids turned out the way they did!" Angelina played along, placing a bowl of pudding and brandy custard in front of George. Angelina went to turn back to the kitchen but she appeared to be glued to the floor as it was at that particular moment that a branch of enchanted mistletoe decided to hang above her and George. George looked up, realising the timely presence of the mistletoe and dramatically dipped his wife down to his level and gave her a very long kiss. While no one else was aware of his arrival, Scorpius could see far enough into the dining room that he saw Rose roll her eyes. He smiled at the familiarity of this typical Rose like behaviour.

As the kiss finally finished, Angelina smile up at her husband and tapped him on the shoulder.

"As romantic as this is, I need to go back and get myself some pudding."

"But I'm right here!" George grinned. At the look Angelina gave him, he helped her stand upright again and casually stated, "As you were."

He turned back to Rose with a smug look on his face. "Not _everyone_ in this family is related. You forgot that half of us already have partners or are married-"

"Yeah, and the other half we're related to." Rose interrupted. "I don't want to get stuck kissing one of you lot because that stupid mistletoe is sneaking around causing mischief. And, I don't fancy seeing all you old farts getting it on either. I mean, I nearly snorted custard through my nose just now." Scorpius knew that this entire argument was lighthearted, this is just one way her family had fun. Besides, Scorpius knew what she was like when she was _actually_ mad.

At this moment, George must have caught a glimpse of Scorpius as he leant back against the door having grown tired of standing upright waiting for Albus to come downstairs. Scorpius wasn't sure he liked the smirk that he saw form on George's lips as he addressed Rose again.

"You're very adamant about that argument Rosie, are you sure you're not just _more_ keen to kiss someone in particular over your own family?"

Scorpius stood ramrod straight again as he noticed George's eyes flicker to him for a brief moment. There was a beat before Rose replied.

"Huh? No, I have no idea what you're talking about. I _honestly_ just don't fancy being forced to snog my own brother, or uncle, or aunty or-"

"Do you realise how the mistletoe works don't you?" George interrupted, sounding more serious.

"What do you mean? The sneaky little fucker flies around, traps two unsuspecting victims and BAM, you're stuck and have to kiss or else you will never be free!"

"Oh yeah, of course that's how it works, right at this very minute there's hundreds of poor bastards with their feet glued to the spot because thy simply refuse to kiss the person the mistletoe caught them with." George replied, voice dripping with sarcasm.

There was another pause before Rose replied.

"Well, you did sell a love potion to a girl who used it on my dad in sixth year and he nearly died, so forgive me for thinking that's how it works." Rose said a little defensively.

"Hey, that girl was trying to woo your Uncle Harry – not your dad, the greedy little prick – and he nearly died because he was given poisoned wine from the potions professor so don't you go blaming my products miss!"

Rose blinked.

"Great Gryffindor's Ghost, Hogwarts really was something special back then wasn't it? How the hell did Dumbledore let that happen?"

George scratched his head. "Yeah he wasn't one for keeping an acceptable amount of control over what was going on I suppose. Excellent beard though, 11 out of 10! Anyway, that's not the point. The mistletoe has never worked that way. There's no rule about _how_ you kiss the person you're trapped with – it could be a peck on the cheek or the hand if you wanted," He noticed Rose's mouth open in a retort so continued louder, "AND people don't even have to do anything. If they wait five minutes the spell lets them go anyway."  
"Seriously?" Rose asked, genuinely curious.

"Serious as haemorrhoids."

"That's very serious then. So do most people know this or am I particularly daft?"

"Well, you are particularly daft but I suppose that not _everyone_ knows how it works."

"You don't really advertise this information do you?"

"It's a minor detail, in the fine print. Besides, you won't believe the number of letters we get thanking us for helping get people together. If we didn't do things the way we do then think of all the lovelorn people who would still be out there, desperate and alone."

"Oh yes, that's why you sell it. You're all about the match making. It's not about your business plan, money or amusement at all."

George sighed dreamily, "Maybe it is." He replied and Scorpius swore he saw George wink in his general direction.

The conversation then moved on and Albus _finally_ made his way down the stairs.

"Hey Scor, how long have you been here for?" he asked.

"Oh, only for a little while," he answered, lying to be polite.

* * *

It was 2am and Scorpius still hadn't slept. The reason he was still awake was hard to determine. It may have been they excitement from being included in such a large, rambunctious and welcoming family. It may have been due to him feeling a bit guilty that he had left his mum and dad the day after Christmas. Or it may have just been because he needed a glass of water. He debated in his head for 15 minutes before deciding to finally get out of bed. All arguments of 'what if I wake someone up?', 'what if they thinks it's rude to help myself to the kitchen?', 'what if I fall down the wonky staircase in the dark?' were ignored as he put on a woolen jumper over his tshirt and he shuffled out the door as quietly as he could.

He made it halfway down the staircase without waking anyone nor falling to his death. The rest of the way would be easy as a light was still on in the lounge room, lighting up the bottom half of the staircase. He ignored the idea that whoever was still up would think him rude for helping himself to a glass of water, and fully descended the stairs. He quietly poked his head around the corner and, oh, what a vision. Rose had set herself on one of the large armchairs under a lamp, legs tucked under her as a sketchbook lay against the armrest while she drew lazily, her face relaxed and soft. She had her unruly hair piled high on her head in what was supposed to be a bun but numerous curls had escaped the confines of the hair tie and stuck up in different directions. She wore checkered flannelette pyjama pants and the knitted jumper her Nanna Molly had made for her. The neckline must have been a little wide as it had shifted slightly so that the top of her left shoulder was visible. Scorpius couldn't help but stare as the view combined with the scents of fresh pine from the Christmas tree and the lingering smell of something sweet that Molly must have been baking during the day made him feel relaxed and like he had come home. That last thought both thrilled and scared him a little so he decided to stop being rude and made his presence known.

"Hi Rosie, what are you doing up this late?" he said, even though he had been staring long enough to know exactly why she was still up. Rose whipped her head up, not realising he was there, but she smiled at him, so much that Scorpius thought she was either very relaxed or potentially had gotten into too much eggnog.

"Hey Scorpius, I could ask you the same thing."

"Just needed a glass of water. Didn't realise anyone else would be up."

"Fair enough." There was a pause. She still hadn't answered his question, so he continued. "And you?" he asked again, quirking his eyebrow at her. She looked at her sketchbook and then back to him.

"Dragon taming." She said, playing along with their age old game of not stating the obvious. She continued when Scorpius only smiled but was still hoping for the real answer.

"I um – I don't really get the chance to draw without anyone around. This is about the only time the place is quiet and I don't have someone trying to steal my pencil as a joke, or rip the paper of my reach or someone over my shoulder commenting." She didn't quite meet his gaze as she said this. Scorpius wondered why she was so self conscious about her drawing, particularly considering she was very good at it. This made Scorpius think of something.

"They do know you still draw though?"

Rose didn't reply and looked rather sheepish.

"Well, I'm sure they know I still draw, I mean I have to ask mum to get me new sketchbooks and pencils but they may not have seen anything for a while now."

Scorpius grinned. "Well now I feel very special being privileged enough to see the masterful works of Rose Weasley!"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Don't feel too special, you never would have seen it if you didn't knock me down the stairs."

"Your words wound me Rosie! In that case, can I see what you're working on now?" Scorpius noticed Rose hold the book against her chest. By this stage, Scorpius had sat down in the armchair adjacent to Rose's so she turned to look at him. After about a minute she sighed and held the book out to him. Scorpius grinned and gently took the sketchbook from her.

She was working on a picture of Nanna Molly, face full of love while holding what looked like the Christmas pudding – Rose hadn't quite finished it yet. Scorpius looked back at Rose in awe while she avoided his gaze, picking at a thread in her jumper. He said nothing and flicked back through the book. It seems Rose must have been up every night drawing as there were numerous pictures of her family members during the Christmas festivities. Young cousins opening presents with joy on their faces; her Uncle Harry lifting his wine glass up in a toast; Her mum and dad gazing at each other in a secret moment of affection; James on his broom, the pictures continued. Some were quick, rough sketches, others were complete, polished and looked like photographs. She had also dabbled with different pencils, pens and colours. It was incredible. Scorpius was starting to realise why Rose often like so sleep until late morning on non school days as she must often be up late working on her pieces. Scorpius felt a small flash of gratitude that she still got up early enough on a Saturday to have breakfast with him and Albus. Neither of them said anything for a while so Scorpius offered his praise.

"Rosie, these are incredible! I know that picture of the venomous tentacular was brilliant but – these –" he left his comment open because he honestly didn't know what else to say. He had already figured out that Rose didn't take compliments well.

"You think so?" she replied quietly, looking in his direction but still not catching his gaze. Scorpius moved his head around until he could lock eyes with her properly.

"Cross my heart." He said, making the small gesture. This seemed to make something click inside Rose as she sat a little straighter and managed a small smile. She leant closer to Scorpius, over the two arm rest and flicked through the pages.

"Can I show you my favourite?" She didn't wait for Scorpius to answer as she flicked through the pages. She stopped on one of her family. It was a picture of her mum, dad and brother at a four seater table. Her dad and brother sat opposite each other playing chess while her mum sat in the middle of frame, leaning back and reading. Scorpius assumed Rose must have been sitting opposite her mum as it was from her perspective.

"It's my family, just a normal day or night when we are all home. I love this one."

Scorpius agreed, it was such a warm and comfortable scene. It brought a smile to his face.

"It's brilliant. Although you're not in it." He noted. At this, Rose slowly closed the book and took it back. "Nah, that's how I see my family, means it's from my perspective. Anyway, I don't like the thought of drawing myself." She added, now also packing up her pencils.

"Well if you need a new model, maybe you should draw me sometime." Scorpius said and instantly regretted it. He didn't even know why he said it and mentally kicked himself. Rose just laughed at him.

"Let me guess, you want me to draw you like one of my French girls?"

"Oh have you got pictures of Victoire and the Dom?" Rose just laughed.

"Well yes but it's from an old movie –" Scorpius was looking at her confused. She lightly shook her head. "Never mind."

There was a brief but comfortable silence. Scorpius was enjoying this conversation, it seemed like the best interaction they'd had since the third year debacle.

"I'm done here. Weren't you after a glass of water?"

Scorpius was brought out of his reverie. "Oh, yeah."

* * *

After Rose had helped Scorpius get his glass of water, they both decided it was time for bed and made their way upstairs. Scorpius would have preferred to stay up all night talking to Rose and looking at her pictures but that was a romantic notion he had to let go of. At the bottom of the stairs Scorpius waited for Rose to go first out of habit. She rolled her eyes at him and crossed her arms, staring at him in a challenge. Scorpius rolled his own eyes back at her and started ascending the stairs before her. He got about 5 steps up when he felt as though there was a physical barrier stopping him from the knees down. The top half of his body was still in a forward momentum but his lower half had resisted so he fell forward onto his hands at the same time he felt Rose run into the back of him.

"What the fucking fuck?" Rose muttered, ever so eloquently. They both righted themselves as much as they could and looked at their feet. Nothing appeared to be stopping them, then Rose swore again and put her hands to her temples.

"Scorpius, can you look up. I don't want to be the one to check."

Scorpius was very confused but did as he was told, he could see Rose was getting very frustrated. He looked up and there was the culprit; a branch of enchanted mistletoe hovering above them.

"Mistletoe." He said hoarsely.

Rose made a noise between a sigh and a growl. "Oh for fuck's sake! Stupid fucking Uncle George and his fucking mistletoe. Old codger is completely mental."

This was not the reaction Scorpius was hoping for if he ever got the chance to kiss Rose. He was not confident that this would be the wonderful interaction he had dreamt up in his head which he thought about only every other day. Remembering the conversation he overheard Rose and her uncle having earlier that day, he resigned himself to the fact that he would now have to wait five minutes while listening to Rose muttering expletives about her uncle instead of the kiss he so sought after. Scorpius realised that Rose had finally stopped muttering, so there was only about another three minutes to wait. He was about to tell her as such when she surprised him by talking softly.

"I suppose we had better kiss then, otherwise we will be on the stairs all night."

Scorpius almost got whiplash with how fast his head whipped back to look at her.

"Huh?" he sort of breathed this rather than saying it. Rose looked at him as though he was silly and pointed upwards.

"Mistletoe remember?" Rose was on the cusp of becoming defensive which would normally be a bad thing but oh lordy, Scorpius was both afraid and delighted to realise why. A distracting inner monologue started in his head:

_Sweet Merlin's beard, Rose wants to kiss me._

Don't be so stupid, that's wishful thinking.

_Is it? You know she KNOWS how the mistletoe works._

Maybe she just forgot, maybe I should remind her.

_DO NOT REMIND HER! She wants to kiss you and you want to kiss her…reminding her will only make her think you DON'T want to kiss her._

But –

_HOLY CRAP SHE JUST PUT DOWN HER BOOK AND PENCILS…_

Must be because they're heavy.

_If you can't take this as a sign then this part of your brain certainly can't help you._ Scorpius had the image of a door slamming in his face at this last thought and finally brought himself out of his reverie.

Scorpius noticed that Rose had shuffled slightly closer when she righted herself. It seemed their feet weren't so much stuck as they were trapped in an invisible box that surrounded only the two of them. The slight look of worry on her face was enough for him to stop listening to his thoughts and just focus on the matter at hand. Rose was willing to kiss him. He turned so he faced her, only a few centimeters taller than her now that he was positioned on the step above her. He seemed to be catching up to her each year but when they were on even footing Rose was still the taller of the two. He had never kissed anyone before. At this very moment he hoped he already had as even though he knew what to do, he didn't quite know how to go about it. He and Rose locked eyes and they both shared a shy smile. He quirked his eyebrow at her, silently asking if she was sure. She replied with a very slight nod.

All Scorpius could hear was the blood rushing through his ears, almost egging him on. He reached down and held one of her hands in his as he leant forward and pressed his lips ever so softly to hers. It was what one could describe a lingering peck; they had both leant into one another with their lips connected but currently not moving. Despite the chasteness of the kiss, Scorpius felt his lips become tingly which started spreading a warmth throughout his jaw, his neck and then the rest of his body. He went from tingling to positively buzzing when he felt her gently grip his side through his jumper with her free hand and start to move her mouth. He was more than keen to reciprocate so he moved her closer and joined in. There they remained, connected at the lips and hips in a slow moving kiss for Scorpius had no idea how long. It felt both too short and like an eternity all at once. He never would have imagined that feeling someone's lips over his would feel so wonderful, or that the wetness of the other person wouldn't in fact be disturbing but added to the sensation. He only started having coherent thoughts again once he noticed they both had become a bit breathless and broke apart. Looking at her flushed face and red lips in the lamplight that still shone on the bottom flight of stairs, his stomach did a giant flip-flop with the acknowledgement that Rose had been his first kiss and that it had been _good –_ at least to him _._ He knew he had nothing to compare it to but these feelings were just exquisite. He decided to ignore the negative part of his brain which started to doubt whether Rose had enjoyed it. He was about to lean down and kiss her again, which he realised she would likely allow as they were still close together and she was still leaning into him _staring at his mouth_ , but a thought stopped him and he felt compelled to talk instead.

"Rosie?" he asked, his voice surprisingly hoarse. She blinked and met his gaze. He wasn't sure he wanted to do this as it probably wasn't the time, but he had already opened his mouth again.

"I'm really sorry for not standing up for you last year during the whole, conversation thing you heard in the library." He noticed a small line form between her brows but he continued anyway with a bravado he didn't realise he possessed.

"I always think you look great no matter what you do with your clothes or hair." As he said this he absently reached up and tried to place an unruly curl back into position, but it sprang back out of order as soon as he let it go. He was expecting her to move away, ignore the conversation or give him a verbal lashing for being so stupid in third year. What he didn't expect was her to lean in and kiss him again.

Their lips met with more deliberate movements this time. It was ever so slightly more confident and Scorpius experimented with more pressure and suction. In reward, Rose moved her head to the side and Scorpius inwardly groaned…or maybe he outwardly groaned, he had no idea at this point. Just as they were picking up the pace, Scorpius got more determined and attempted to lace his fingers through her hair – which then became promptly tangled. They abruptly stopped their ministrations when Scorpius tried to pull his hand free only to tug on Rose's hair. There was a moment where they both stared at each other, then began shaking in a mutual fit of quiet giggles as they _definitely_ didn't want to wake anyone up and be caught in their current position. After much giggling and tugging to free Scorpius' hand, they stood apart from each other and now seemed too shy to look directly at one another again. Rose moved down a step and looked around.

"Huh, well what do you know, we're free!"

"Who've thought it?" Scorpius offered smugly, with the knowledge that of course they would be free after kissing, but that they had been stuck on that step for _well_ over the allotted 5 minutes that the mistletoe would keep them. Rose looked at him slightly suspiciously but let the comment slide and continued to walk down the stairs.

"Aren't you going to bed?" he asked, unsure why his stomach dropped when he realised she wasn't walking back up the stairs with him. Did he think she would come back to his room and continue where they left off while Albus slept? _Stupid!_

"I left the lamp on. Don't want to burn down the house." She said, turning to him with her hand still on the balustrade.

"Oh." Was all Scorpius could say. He couldn't bring himself to keep going upstairs so he stalled by bending down and picking up Rose's drawing supplies and stepping down to hand them to her. She took them from him and he finally had the movement to climb that damn staircase once more.

"Hey Scorpius?" she interrupted his strides. He turned to look back down at her. "Thank you." She said quietly. Somehow he knew she was not thanking him for the kiss, or passing her books but for his apology. Still feeling foolish and guilty for his actions over a year ago, all he could do was nod at her and they went their separate ways.

* * *

The next morning Scorpius woke and headed down to breakfast with Al. As it was only 7.30 Rose was nowhere to be seen as she was sleeping in as usual. Although he was spared any embarrassment by having to see Rose after the night before, he caught the eye of her Uncle George who simply smiled and winked at him before slyly sipping his coffee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think! This is the last of the chapters I already have written now so updates will be slower from now on...but there's only 3 more years of Hogwarts to go and next chapter I think I will combine 5th and 6th year...


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